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Lexicon of Names

Common name elements in Tolkien's works

This lexicon lists some of the more common elements found in the names of places and people in Tolkien's work. These are mainly derived from Elvish tongues, but some common forms from other languages, such as Old English or Adûnaic, are also included, as well as a few less recognisable words that are still found in modern English. There are very large number of these name elements, and this page is being expanded to include more over time.

Where possible, the particular Elvish source language for an element is shown, but sometimes this is not possible (for example, where a common root word occurs in more than one language). In cases like this, terms are simply labelled 'Elvish root'.

ta
(Sindarin) an element designed to represent 'high' or 'lofty' in Sindarin. It occurs uniquely in Taniquetil ('high white peak'), with the intention of keeping the sounds of that mountain's original name while translating that name into meaningful Sindarin elements.

tehta
(Quenya) 'a written mark', from a root tek- meaning 'write or draw'. Most commonly seen in the plural form tehtar, referring to the collection of marks added to Elvish script to denote vowel signs, modified sounds and so on. The Sindarin equivalent was apparently teith, though this is not recorded in actual use. From the same tek- root came the Quenya word tengwa, 'letter, character', hence the plural Tengwar, the common name for the letters of the Fëanorian writing system.

telume
(Quenya) 'the heavens' envisaged as a dome arching over the Earth, seen in two constellation names: Telumehtar 'swordsman of the heavens' and Telumendil 'devoted to the heavens'.

thain
(Modernised Old English) from þegn, a military leader in the service of a king or lord. For historical reasons, in modern English the normal spelling is 'thane', but a direct transliteration of the Old English word would be 'thain', and that is the form preferred by Tolkien. This is the source of the title 'Thain' given to the nominal leader of the Shire (originally a military commander serving in place of the King, but merely titular by the end of the Third Age). The same element is seen in the name Éothain, a follower of Éomer, whose name translates as 'horse-thain' ('thain' here implies that he was himself a commander, but of lesser rank than Éomer).

theo
(Old English) 'people', 'folk', derived from Old English théod (which was the common form among the Rohirrim). In this form it appears only in the name of Theobald Bolger, where the -bald element means 'bold', 'daring'.

thráin
(Old Norse) 'one who desires' or 'one who craves'; this is a Dwarf name found in the Old Norse poem Völuspá, deriving ultimately from the verb Þreyja (pronounced approximately 'thraya') meaning to desire something intensely. Tolkien gave the name to two Kings of Durin's Folk: Thráin I who founded Erebor, and Thráin II who was driven out of the Lonely Mountain by Smaug. In his later years, Thráin II conceived a desire to return to Erebor - driven in part by the Ring of Power that he bore - which perhaps accounts for Tolkien's selection of this particular name.

took
(Anglicised Hobbit-speech) an anglicisation of tûk, supposed by the members of that clan to translate as 'daring' (though there is some doubt about the accuracy of this interpretation). Seen in the family name Took of the Thains of the Shire, as well as the name of at least one related family, the North-tooks, and also in place-names such as Tookbank and Tookland.

tuck
(Anglicised Hobbit-speech) a variant rendering of the Hobbit family name Tûk (elsewhere commonly modernised as Took). This element appears only in the name Tuckborough 'fortified place of the Tooks', the chief village of the Tookland in the Shire. The reason for the change in spelling is uncertain, but it is presumably intended to harmonise the word with typical English place-names.

tum
(Sindarin) 'valley', used especially of notably deep valleys. Seen in the name Tumladen, translated 'level vale' (that is, a deep valley with a flat and even bottom). The original Tumladen was the wide valley within the Encircling Mountains where Gondolin stood, but the name was also used of a similar but lesser valley in Gondor.

tur
(Elvish root) originated as a noun meaning 'mastery, command, control', but in personal names it almost universally derives from the form túró denoting 'master' or 'lord'. This element occurs twice in Túrin Turambar, where Túrin implies one who desires or is destined for lordship, while Turambar means 'master of fate'. The same element is seen in Turgon (probably 'lord commander'), and in its plural form in Fëanturi 'Masters of Spirits', the two brothers among whose various names were Nurufantur ('Death-spirit-master') and Olofantur ('Dream-spirit-master'). In the names of Men, -tur is often seen as an affix indicating royalty or lordship, as in Tar-Minyatur ('King, first lord'), Falastur ('Lord of the Coasts'), Ciryatur ('shipmaster' or 'admiral'), and many other examples besides.